PPP reveals it suppressed Colorado poll

Public Policy Polling admitted Wednesday that it decided to not release a poll earlier this week showing a Colorado lawmaker being recalled by a wide margin, saying the firm did not believe the results.

State Sen. Angela Giron was voted out 56 percent to 44 percent, along with the state senate leader John Morse, in a recall election Tuesday night that was triggered by their support of gun control measures.

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On Wednesday, the left-leaning polling firm released results from a poll it took over the weekend, which showed Giron being recalled 54 percent to 42 percent, a 12-point spread that matched actual results. PPP said it withheld the poll, not believing the margin.

“We did a poll last weekend in Colorado Senate District 3 and found that voters intended to recall Angela Giron by a 12 point margin, 54/42. In a district that Barack Obama won by almost 20 points I figured there was no way that could be right and made a rare decision not to release the poll. It turns out we should have had more faith in our numbers,” pollster Tom Jensen wrote in a post on the firm’s website Wednesday.

Jensen pointed to two-thirds support for background checks and evenly split feelings on limiting high-capacity ammunition as further interesting results from the poll, as the election was ostensibly a referendum on gun control measures. But the poll also showed strong favorability for the National Rifle Association in the district, which supported the recall efforts.